3 separate stories revolving around the theme of love and set on Valentine's
Day itself:

Niles' story: In preparation for a
date whom he has invited ovet to Frasier's apartment for dinner, he discovers
a crease in his trousers and so out comes the ironing board. What follows
is how such a deceptively simple problem coupled with Niles' prissy manner
- and his aversion to the sight of blood - can lead to a wrecked apartment
and Niles blacked out on the floor.

Frasier's story:Frasier is meeting
with Cassandra Stone, the station's new marketing manager, but is unsure
as to whether it is a romantic date or just a business meeting. Frasier
consistently receives mixed signals but things seem to be turning Frasier's
way when she invites him up to her hotel room - but are they?

Martin and Daphne's story: Both without dates
on Valentine's Day, Martin and Daphne decide to have a meal together and
discover what it's like to be dateless.

Episode
Title Cards

A Valentine For Niles

A Valentine For Frasier

A Valentine For Daphne And Martin

Episode
Highlights

- Niles having to turn away from Eddie to remove his trousers.

- Niles' 'fight' with the fire extinguisher which culminates
in him blacked out and Eddie eating food off the sofa.

- Frasier phones Roz from a restaurant:Frasier: How do you know if you're on a date?Roz: Are you alone?Frasier: Yes.Roz: Then you're not on a date.

- Frasier phones Roz later:Frasier: Roz, I'm in Cassandra's hotel room but I'm not sure
what that means.Roz: What it means is that even a blind pig finds an acorn once
in a while.

- Daphne and Martin are in the restaurant:Martin: You sit down, take a look at the menu, and I'll go check
your coat.Daphne: Alright, now what looks good to you.Martin: The coat check girl - gimme your coat!

- Daphne is talking about her and Martin's relationship:Daphne: It's sort of like ..... you're my pet.Martin: What!Daphne: In a good sense - like you and Eddie.Martin: Are you calling me a dog now?

Frasier
Online Episode Review

I get more e-mails about this episode than any other, the majority of
them wanting to know the name of the episode where Niles sets Frasier's
apartment on fire / where Niles faints at the sight of blood etc - and
this is it. In the first of 3 vignettes, David Hyde Pierce gets to flex
his comedy muscles to the full in a great, near silent piece that starts
so innocently with Niles wanting to iron a crease out of his trousers
and ends up blacked out on the floor, having set fire to Frasier's couch
and set off the fire alarms! The other 2 segments don't come close to
being as good as the first but each has it's moments, and I liked Daphne's
description of Martin as being like her "pet"!. A memorable
episode, to be sure, and a pretty enjoyable one to boot as well.

Rating

81 %

Latest Viewer Episode Review

Avg. Viewer Review:
96.8%
Total Number of Reviews: 41

Not just Niles, May 13, 2013

Reviewer: Sammy J
from Melbourne, Australia

"Three Valentines" is an undisputed "Frasier" classic, but there's much more to it than David Hyde Pierce's one-man (and a dog) tour-de-force.

The first act is, of course, great fun. Hyde Pierce gives it his all, preparing for a date that goes disastrously wrong before the second person even arrives! Eddie's reaction shots are gorgeous, too, and I think enough has been said about this act by many other commentators.

The second act is perhaps the most forgettable, but it's still so much fun. We meet Cassandra, ably played by the beautiful Virginia Madsen (season 6 is a very good year for Frasier dates). She's much more flirtatious here than in her later appearances... or is she? Frasier's inability to read Cassandra's constantly mixed signals makes for a riotous 7 minutes that impresses me just as much as Niles' little show. I've been in this situation myself, and the frantic way Kelsey Grammer's face rises and falls is just spot-on. Roz gets a great little cameo from her bedroom. On Frasier and Cassandra: "even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while."

After the series analysed its characters' futures in "Our Parents, Ourselves", a Valentine's Day episode makes perfect sense, and the Daphne/Martin sequence that ends the episode is a true highlight for the characters. What starts out as a sympathy dinner on both ends becomes a moment of reflection as the two start sharing compliments against their will, but genuinely expose the warm feelings that have developed over six years of shared captivity at Chez Crane. These two have always had a mutual respect, sometimes more grudging than others, and the dinner reflects their own insecurities. What's more, the heartfelt moment when Daphne calls Martin her pet is particularly touching: some part of him was hoping she'd say something more. It's not that he actually has feelings for Daph, but at the same time this happens to many of us when we spend so long with someone of the right gender: the possibility lingers. Moments of loneliness and uncertainty about the future rise up. It's a well-modulated scene that really gets to the heart of the two characters.